The tuna bite is going off in Cabo in a serious way during the Bisbee's that is in it's final day, Friday. While m,arloin fishing has been tough for the 106-team mega marlin tourney, the yellowfin have become a spectacle of sorts for the big game anglers.

It's perfect timing for the the final, major fishing tourney  of  competitive season in Cabo,  the 14^th annual Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot  with $600,000 in cash and prizes. A teams finish their signup process, WON is  expecting another 100-plus team field and the great tuna fishing is spurring more signup interest.  

Here's the latest, as of Friday:

Several tuna were over 200 pounds and one  fish on first day of the Bisbee’s was a 343 pounder. No fluke. There was a 314 pounder by the Chupacabra among the 200 pounders weighed in at the 80-team Baby Bisbee’s the week before along with several 200 pounders weighed in for the Tuna Division of the charity event. 

Here is a first day Bisbee's tournament report from Bob Hoose of Berkley who is at the 106-team three-day  tourney this week (tough duty)  and is on the water with Bad Company as an observer. What Hoose has been "observing" is an amazing horde of tuna crashing on baits.  His text from Cabo on Thursday, Oct. 25:

“I rode on  Bad Company  to get photos and pick their brains on ways to improve the Penn reel line-up. They slow trolled live skipjack with #550-pound leader for black and blue marlin, but tuna don’t count in the Bisbee’s and they won’t eat the heavy leader. However, all day we watched 200-300-pound tuna explode around the boat feeding on chuilies. One of the tournament boats couldn’t take it anymore and dropped down to 130-pound leader and hooked a 300 while letting the bait out!  Lassley (Steve) and his boys are too focused on the cash and kept to their marlin plan. But damn, are the tuna thick, all big ones, too!  Nothing under 200 pounds.

So, there's still time to enter, Details are below and on the official website www.loscabostunajackpot.com. As we get closer we are now  posting  the latest reports, and as signups coming in, the team rosters will be updated will be updated on the site.

Can you win against the big boys?

It's a legitimate question. The Cabo Tuna Jackpot has the tournament set up so anyone can enter and enjoy the fun, and win. The cost is $800 a team for the overall, which is first second and third place with $40,000 doled out for the top three fish over two days. Then there are the six tuna optionals which raise the ante,  and for those who always want to have a shot at optional money there’s the $1,000 wahoo/dorado optional that last year paid out $36,000 – twice. Look at the story at the left under preview that breaks down the costs to come as a four-man team. The tourney is a great value for your fishing dollar in addition to being a great competition. And a great party to extend your fishing season  

Said Director Pat McDonell: “The motto has been and always will be Fish Hard and Party Harder, and we try to make it a fun event. We have some great parties, first on the marina malecon for the team check-in, then that evening at the new multi-million dollar Cultural Center for the Captains Party, then the marina-side fiesta in front of the Wyndham on Friday night, and finally the  Yamaha Awards dinner at the Puerto Paraiso Mall.”  

Last year, McDonell said, $450,000 was spread  among seven of  the 108 teams. And, the fishing  was spectacular  with 28 yellowfin tuna over 100 pounds and three over 200, topped by Cabo Magic's 213 pounder the second day that won the championship. It was a nearly 5-hour fight on light line by Orville Henseler, who came to Cabo on a Bucket List plan with his wife Cindy after losing his leg in an industrial accident back in Pennsylvania.   

There’s always great stories like that, and big fish. The tourney has had three yellowfin over 300 pounds, including the Mexico tuna record of 383 pounds, by team Fisher Man in 2009. That tuna remains the  biggest yellowfin ever caught in a tournament, anywhere, in history.  

However, it would hard to top last year’s event with its dramatic weigh-in the second day when team True XI1 stormed in with a 206-pound fish that swept the day 2  tuna optionals and won $158,520. And the story of the Bucket List win on the Cabo Magic.

Changes this year? There’s a lot of tweaks, some that are set in stone and others that will be announced soon. There’s no shortage of sponsors in 2012. And the key this year will be to dominate the buzz in the town with maximum visibility. Three parties, two shotgun starts, two weigh-ins and media coverage will do that. The check-in will start it all off, with several hundred teams and guests and friends check-in in, drinking, listening to music and meeting sponsors showing off their products. 

“I’ll be huge,” said McDonell. “The new area for check-in will be much bigger. More tents, a stage, the Cabo Lighthouse bar, a casting contest, TV cameras, interviews of anglers and sponsors during the check-in, the Corona girls, Cabo Cigar Co. will be wrapping and selling Cabo Tuna Jackpot cigars on site,  and then we’ll all head to the outdoor amphitheatre at the Cultural Center for a great Yo-Zuri Captains Meeting and party with free gifts at the door, a video and a live band making full use of the massive theatre screen and audio system that is concert quality.”

McDonell added,  “We’ll be highly visible in the marina area that whole week. The only venue change from last year will be the check-in site staged at the larger area in front of the Wyndham Cabo San Lucas Resort where we also hold the weigh-ins and the Costa/Seaguar Friday Fiesta,” said McDonell. “It’s a festive atmosphere at the scale and gets pretty crowded as the teams pour in with weighable fish with the media, the onlookers, the teams, friends and family and staff and sponsors. ” 

ROOMS AVAILABLE: WON has two rooms available at the host hotel the Wyndham at a deep discount.  Two rooms with marina views, one from Monday through Sunday ($350) and the other Wednesday through Sunday ($250), are available. Costs in include buffet breakfast. Contact director Pat McDonell at pat@wonews.com if interested. All money generated will go to the Wyndham Charter charity fund for two children’s charities.

START BOAT SPECIAL CHARTER! Also new for this year, there will be special “anyone can come” charter on the start boat the second day for friends and family. It is sponsored by the Wyndham Cabo San Lucas Resort. It will be a great party atmosphere, even though the boat will be out from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. Cost is $10. The Wyndham is covering the catering costs for  breakfast burritos, bagels, coffee, champagne or mimosas. The $10 donation collected at the captains meeting and check-in will go to the children’s charities fund.

To Sign up: The Pisces Fleet office is the official Cabo signup office. Wiring money is the best, and easiest way, to sign up from Cabo or Mexico or outside the U.S. For wiring details, e-mail denisec@wonews.com  or stop by the Pisces office in Cabo for the instructions. To talk to the director, call Pat McDonell at (949) 366-0030 ext 33 or pat@wonews.com